Moment rapper Lil Woody smirks as he admits to role in shooting and snitching on Young Thug in bombshell YSL trial

RAPPER Lil’ Woody smirked as he admitted he lied to police and played a role in a 2014 shooting during the historic Georgia trial of Young Thug and the alleged YSL criminal gang.

The rapper , whose legal name is Kenneth Copeland, told the court on Monday that he was involved in a September 2014 shooting despite previously claiming he had no role in it.

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During the trial of rapper Young Thug , Copeland told the Fulton County Superior Court that he’d lied repeatedly to police in the past, doing whatever it took to get out of trouble.

Many believe the rapper previously worked with law enforcement , informing on the alleged crimes of Young Thug and the alleged YSL gang.

Copeland was jailed after refusing to testify back in June.

When asked last Tuesday whether he would testify on Monday, Copeland responded, “Depends how I wake up.”

The rapper begrudgingly took the stand on August 12.

“Y’all trying to put people lives in my hands,” Copeland said.

“I don’t wanna be here. Y’all have pressured me, I’m tired of Y’ALL, cause y’all know y’all wrong, and y’all Black people doing this to us.”

“Like I told you before you all called me to trial, I have lied, I made things up,” he told prosecutors during his testimony.

“So what I did was, to get them off me, I said, ‘Thug did this, Thug did that.’ Because I knew he didn’t do it.”

He went on to clarify that he’s not trying to help Young Thug out, only trying to get to the truth.

“It may seem like I’m trying to help Thug out,” he said.

“I’m not trying to help him out. I don’t care nothing about him, what he got going on, nothing.

“I care about the truth,” Copeland continued.

Prosecutors asked Copeland a series of questions about a separate fatal 2015 shooting of Donovan Thomas and other crimes allegedly linked to Young Thug and the alleged YSL criminal gang, to which he replied, “I don’t recall.”

Summary of the Young Thug and YSL trial

The long-running trial first began when Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, was arrested back in May 2022. Williams, along with 27 others, were accused of being a part of the alleged crime gang, Young Slime Life. The rapper is thought to be the leader.

Williams was denied bond several times, and the jury selection for his trial officially began in January 2023. Ten months later, in November, the trial officially began. The original 28 defendants were cut down to six, per Atlanta News First .

The trial was first paused in December 2023 after one of Williams’ co-defendants was stabbed. The trial then resumed in January 2024, but took another eight-week hiatus in June 2024.

Testimonies resumed in August.

However, later Monday afternoon, Copeland admitted to a September 2014 shooting where he and a friend shot into a barbershop, owned by the father of rapper Rich Homie Quan.

Corey Lamar, Quan’s father, was left hospitalized.

Copeland told Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Symone Hilton that the shooting was meant “to send a message.”

“We ain’t the ones to play with,” he said.

Judge Paige Reese Whitaker told jurors to ignore some of Copeland’s earlier testimony as he was not given proper legal advice when first taking the stand in June, Atlanta News First reported.

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HISTORIC TRIAL

The trial of Young Thug and the alleged YSL criminal gang began in November 2023 and has since had three judges assigned to the case.

The case marks the longest-running criminal trial in Georgia’s history, per NBC News .

Prosecutors argue that Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffrey Williams, violated Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (Rico) Act, aimed at targeting individuals working under a criminal organization.

Williams and several others face charges of racketeering conspiracy and participation in criminal street gang activity, along with drug and gun charges.

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The rapper was arrested in May 2022 and was denied bail several times.

The long-running trial comes after an eight-week hiatus, which began in June 2024.

Judge Ural Glanville originally ruled over the case, before being removed, and Judge Shukura Ingram recused herself.

Since Whitaker took over the case in mid-July, she denied several mistrial pleas from Williams’ attorneys.

If found guilty, Young Thug and his co-defendants face prison sentences of five to 20 years.

Law and Crime Network

Law and Crime Network